SAO PAULO, April 15 (Reuters) - Brazilian petrochemical company Braskem SA said on Monday an appeals court in Alagoas state has ruled the company’s shareholders cannot approve its planned payment of 2.7 billion reais ($697 million) in dividends.

A shareholders meeting to approve the payment had been scheduled for Tuesday.

Prosecutors in the state had requested the freezing of 6.7 billion reais in the company’s accounts for potential payments related to alleged environmental damage in the city of Maceio, in Alagoas, close to one of the company’s units.

A lower court issued an injunction on April 5 to freeze 100 million reais related to the damage, which Braskem said at the time it was working with authorities to help repair. ($1 = 3.8719 Brazilian reais) (Reporting by Alberto Alerigi and Tatiana Bautzer, Editing by G Crosse and Sonya Hepinstall)